


IN ALL MY PREGNANT GLORY

by arayofstarlight



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: And More Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mpreg, Zeki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26136478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arayofstarlight/pseuds/arayofstarlight
Summary: Zero's mind riled. He was knocked up. Pregnant. Three monsters of a vile pure blood were growing inside him. How in hell was he going to tell that to Yuki? The girl he loved more than anything.Zero goes missing on a hunt, and when he is found he has been impregnated by a nasty pureblood. And he is not exactly happy about having to go through a pregnancy, and as a man no less, right in front of the girl he loves.ZEKI all the way.
Relationships: Cross Yuuki/Kiryuu Zero
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> So, okay. I have no idea where this came from, it just poured out of me. I must say that sometimes you can really find some strange places inside your mind, and in this case the outcome is: poor, poor Zero.
> 
> The first chapter is mostly meant to give a background to the story. I wrote it (and stole heavily from a much more serious Zeki story that I am working on) because I want the reader to understand just how close Yuki and Zero are.
> 
> The story is Zeki all the way, and slightly AU (not very notable, but there is no school for vampires and no Kaname), and it is totally awkward, cheesy, fluffy and heavy on the comfort.
> 
> Hope you like it, and thank you for reading!
> 
> Reviews are of course always VERY welcome!
> 
> Zero 18 years old, Yuki 17 years old, Kaien, Toga, the Doctor
> 
> Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Angst
> 
> MPREG LEMONS (but not very descriptive)

WEEK ONE

YUKI WAS IN school. A pale winter sun shone through the windowpanes of the classroom. Yuki closed her eyes to it and did not listen to one word of what the teacher talked about. Instead her thoughts wandered to Zero, because he was not in his seat beside her. Zero was her adopted brother. Her childhood hero. Her best friend. The boy she had fallen in love with when they still had been only kids.

ONE SNOWY WINTER night seven years ago, Kaien, Yuki's adopted father, came home with Zero in his arms. A lost and broken boy, drenched in blood. Yuki had been ten years old and Zero eleven.

He came from a family of vampire hunters, old colleagues and childhood friends of Kaien, that had been brutally murdered by a mad vampire. Zero had been found almost lifeless at his home, laying in the middle of a gory mess of what once had been his mother and father, curled up around his twin brother's body. Covered in the grey dust of a dead vampire and still holding his mother's gun in one hand. Wounds from the vampire's teeth scabbing over on his neck.

Zero did not say one word the first three months he lived with Yuki and Kaien. And when he finally started to talk again, he was still very silent and shy. With his silver hair and long, smoky silver lashes and wide lavender eyes, Yuki thought he looked like a fairy tale prince that had wondered out of his tale and got lost. She immediately took him to her heart, and suddenly her greatest goal in life became to pry shy smiles out of the blushing boy.

Yuki and Zero's fates were similar. Yuki had also lost her family to a vampire. Kaien was a retired vampire hunter, and he had saved Yuki from a vampire when she was only three years old. Although she did not remember anything from what happened that night, it had made her fear almost everything, especially everything outside the house. She spent her young childhood mostly inside and fed her life with cookies, books and her father's tales.

Yuki soothed Zero after his many nightmares from what happened to him, and when he was afraid to fall asleep, she held him close and whispered tales of her imagination into his ears. And Zero, who was not afraid of anything except his nightmares, picked all of Yuki's fears apart, one by one, with great kindness and an even greater patience. Zero became Yuki's childhood hero, and she became his safe place.

They were always together and played in the birchwood that surrounded their house. They built snow castles in the winter and tree houses in the summer. They went ice skating on the small, dark lakes when they were frozen and swam in them during summer, letting the sun dry their naked skin while they lay on sun-dappled moss under canopies of rustling leaves, dozing and reading and talking. They looked for raspberry brambles and found wild strawberries they put like red beads on thin straws of grass. They teased and laughed and tussled around in snow and moss and falling leaves.

As the years passed Zero grew tall and very handsome, and Yuki grew almost nothing at all, but her dark brown eyes were big and beautiful and shone with warmth. Sometimes Zero would get lost in those eyes, and Yuki would get lost in his shy smiles. They shared their first kiss when Yuki was fourteen, and Zero had just turned fifteen. Then they also shared their second kiss and their third kiss, and soon they kissed each other all over their bodies.

And then Zero changed. When he was around sixteen, he became silent again, and he distanced himself from Yuki. It hurt her badly, and he did not give her any explanation. By now he was a vampire hunter himself, and suddenly he spent all of his time outside of school out on missions for the Hunter's Association.

One night Yuki found him bleeding in the birchwood. He had been hurt on one of his missions, and losing a lot of blood he trembled with a vampire's bloodthirst, and finally Yuki understood what had been wrong with her best friend. She offered him her neck like it was a band aid, knowing enough about vampires that Zero would heal if he just got blood. And Zero bit her amongst the pale birches with their golden autumn leaves, and he took mouthfuls of her blood. The vampire that had taken his family all those years ago, had in the end taken his humanity too.

The following year was a hard one. Zero had to accept that he now was a vampire and needed blood to survive. There were of course blood tablets, which sated most vampires' thirst, but for months Zero's body rejected them, and he had to drink Yuki and Kaien's blood, which they both offered without batting an eye, because even though Zero wanted to give up, none of them would have that. Zero was very angry and miserable. He hated what he had become. Yuki was very sad and miserable. She missed her best friend and the boy she loved. And Kaien was very worried and miserable. His heart bled for both his children.

But Zero made it through, and his body accepted the blood tablets. And he came back to Yuki again. Very shy and cautious at first, fearing she would feel the same loathing for what he was as he felt himself. But when she only met him with warmth and her usual sunshine smiles, he opened up more and more. Their friendship grew even deeper, and one night after many laughs and board games in front of the fire place, Yuki kissed him again. They both lost their virginity that night.

Shyly they started to hold hands almost all the time again, like when they had been kids. Something much deeper than friendship were growing between them, although they were both too shy to talk about that, afraid it would change their friendship that already was too precious to be changed.

THE TEACHER TALKED and talked, and Yuki watched the pale winter sun disappear behind the town's rooftops. Zero had been missing for three days now. He had been out on a mission for the Hunter's Association when he just disappeared, and Yuki's whole world came crashing down around her. Zero meant everything to her. A life without him was unimaginable.


	2. IT IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE

WEEK TWO

YUKI RAN HOME from school, her feet tapping like heavy rain against the stone clad alleys in the small town and then the frostbitten path through the birchwood. There was smoke coming from the house's chimney, and Yuki's heart started to pound. Her father and Toga, who had been Zero's master in his hunter's training and the one who had found Zero after his family's murder, had raised hell in the Hunter's Association when Zero did not return from his mission. They had had a search party going for twelve days now, and she had not seen much of her father during that time. If he was home that must mean news. Her heart pounded harder. Maybe Zero was already home!

But it was her father who met her at the door. "He is found Yuki. And he is alive." Yuki started to cry from relief and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. He hugged her very close. "He is alive Yuki. And he is safe."

She nodded and wiped her tears on the hem of her grey school sweater. "How is he? Where is he? Is he home?"

"He is…alive. And he is in the Hunter's Association's hospital ward. He will be home in a few days. Come to the kitchen Yuki. I have made dinner and we have to talk. There are some complications…"

Yuki followed her father and sat down at the table. Hospital ward? Complications? She felt suddenly very cold inside. "You said he was alright, what do you mean by complications?"

Kaien took a deep breath. "Oh Yuki, I don't know how to say this…"

"Just spit it father, because I am going crazy soon."

And of all the words there was in the world, she could never have predicted his next ones. He let the breath out and closed his eyes. "Zero is pregnant."

Yuki blinked. Was her father going senile? "What do you mean pregnant? He is a man. That is impossible."

"Yes, you would think so."

Yuki stared at him, and there was something in his expression and serious tone that made her realise he was actually telling her the truth. An unbelievable truth, but a truth nonetheless. For a while her mind went completely blank.

"What happened to him?" she finally asked, feeling numb.

"Zero was taken by the brother of the pureblood who murdered his family. I don't know if you know this, but Zero killed it on that night. The brother had planned this for a long time. As a revenge."

Yuki knew. She knew all the gory details of the murder of Zero's family. Not that he had ever told her, but as a child she had eavesdropped on her father and Toga's sometimes quite loud discussions about the incident. And she had been old enough to read the newspaper. _The Kiryu Massacre_ the newspaper had called it _._

"Some pureblood families are very inbred, because they try to keep their blood pure. They are not sane, and they are very dangerous. Luckily it was the last one of that family, and Toga killed it. But pureblood vampires have many strange abilities…They can plant…beings in other vampires. It does not matter if it is a woman or a man. Zero is not the first man this happened to, even though it is very rare nowadays. And I call them beings, because they are not real babies. They are vampires but…You could say these beings are like…vampire…dolls. They are completely mindless beings. In older times, before the blood tablets were made, some vampires used them as blood banks if they did not have other vampires to feed from. Instead of drinking human blood and then be hunted down."

Zero, pregnant? Beings? Vampire dolls? _In…Zero's belly?_ And then a completely horrifying thought came to Yuki's mind. To be pregnant one had to…She took a deep breath to get air to her heart that was suddenly choking.

"Father? Was…was…Zero…raped?"

Her father stared at her, and then the lightbulb went on. "Oh, dear god, no! The seed of these beings are in the pureblood's blood. And somehow the pureblood can choose if it wants to impregnate someone or not. Don't ask me how that works Yuki, because I really don't know. Zero was forced to drink its blood. He was not raped."

Yuki let out a breath of relief, and her heart started beating again. "It has only been like two weeks," she whispered, grasping a thin hope that her father somehow had misunderstood everything. "It is too short time to know."

"No, Yuki." Kaien sighed. "These beings, or spawns as Toga calls them, develop in nine weeks instead of nine months. To make it simple, you could say that Zero is two months pregnant by now, and he also carries three of them. He shows a little. I had a doctor I trust a lot, examine him. He is pregnant Yuki."

_Two months pregnant? With three…spawns? Shows a little?_

"But…but it is just not possible! He cannot even give birth or anything!"

"He will have a c-section. That is why he is in the hospital now. But it is not so simple. The spawns are attached to his blood system, and he can bleed to death, even as a vampire. No, don't worry Yuki, that will not happen. The doctor is very skilled, and he will end the surgery if something goes wrong. But I am telling you all of this because it may not be possible to take them out, and then Zero will have to go through the pregnancy."

Yuki was silent for a while, and then she whispered, "How…does Zero feel about all of this?"

What a stupid question to ask. There were three strange beings growing inside of him. How would she feel? Scared, lost, mortified. Amongst a billion other equally really bad feelings. Oh, she just wanted to hold Zero close and never let go.

Kaien sighed. He took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been two very long weeks and one very long day.

HE AND TOGA had found Zero naked and handcuffed in a dark and soundproof cell in the basement of the pureblood's mansion. Zero had been disoriented and weak and already suffering from morning sickness, although they did not know what it was right then.

He locked eyes with Kaien and whispered, terrified, "Kaien, there is something growing inside of me! _Get it out!"_ And then he passed out.

Shot full of an IV mix of blood, calming sedatives and nourishment and laying in a hospital bed, awake but slightly dazed, Zero's first reaction when it was confirmed he was, in lack of better words, pregnant, was silence. Then he started to chuckle.

"Pregnant, huh?" He sighed and closed his eyes. "Fuck me. That is kind of crazy." He fell silent again and the doctor started to explain the basics of it. Zero put a hand to the tiny swell of his belly just barely visible through the thin fabric of the hospital shirt. He abrupted the doctor mid-sentence, "Will I grow boobs too?"

Kaien blinked. Toga paled. But the doctor smiled softly. "No, you will not. Vampire babies don't crave milk, just blood."

"Well, I guess that is something at least. Yuki would kill me if I grew bigger boobs than her. Actually, that would be fine with me. Not the boobs, but the killing. This life has fucked me all over since I was eleven anyway. I had it. Fuck, I am not going to be a goddamn father – or is it mother, what the hell am I anyway? – to some vampire spawn." And he sat up, looking around, and not finding what he searched for, he pierced Kaien with a glare that froze Kaien to the spot just by the amount of despair it was loaded with. Despair that quickly turned into anger because Zero did not know how to handle it. He snarled, _"Where the fuck is my gun?"_

Then he turned white. He grabbed the bucket that was on the table next to the bed and started to heave his guts out, much like he had been doing ever since he woke up in the hospital. Kaien closed his eyes. _Do not cry. Do not cry. Do. Not. Cry._ But his heart hurt bad for the boy who was as much of a son to him as if he had been his own blood. The doctor quickly increased the dose of sedatives that went into Zero's IV and explained that the babies shared nothing with Zero, just his body for nine weeks. He would be neither a father or a mother. It was not a normal pregnancy, although it worked much like one. "And we will try to take them out, Mr Kiryu."

Zero put a thumb up while he continued heaving into the bucket. "That is…some awesome…news," he hacked out between retching. "But I think you could have told me about the taking-out-part a little bit earlier."

Exhausted, he slumped back into the bed's pillows like a puppet who had had all its strings cut. Kaien sat down beside him and took his hand. Zero flinched and stared at him, but did not take his hand away. And Kaien realised with another stab to his heart that this was maybe the closest Zero had ever been to letting him comfort him.

"Don't worry, Kaien. I got through my family's death and then the change from human into vampire too. In comparison this will be…almost fun." And then he was out like a candle.

Kaien stroked the silver bangs out of Zero's face. _You brave boy._ He covered him in a blanket and they left the room. Toga, who had held Zero's hunter's gun in his coat pocket all the time, having found it put away in the pureblood's mansion, gave it to Kaien.

"Keep this out of his reach for a while, just in case. I will be back in some weeks."

He lighted a cigarette, ignoring the non-smoking policy of the hospital ward and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

KAIEN SIGHED AGAIN and decided to give Yuki only a small part of the truth. "The doctor gives him sedatives, so he is calm now. He was sleeping when I left the hospital. But he was…very distressed when we found him."

Distressed? Yeah, Yuki could imagine that. She stood so abruptly the chair almost fell to the floor behind her. "I want to see him! Now! I don't want him to be alone."

Kaien smiled softly and took her hand and pulled her to him in a hug that was very well needed for both of them. "I know Yuki. But Zero will be home again in a few days, and you will see him then. First he will have the surgery and hopefully everything goes fine."

Yuki started sobbing and clung to her father. His arms around her felt almost as good as Zero's. "A few days? After a surgery like that?"

"Yuki, Zero is a vampire. After the surgery we will hook him up to a blood bag and he will heal in no time. He will be home in a few days. I promise."


	3. HOME COMING

WEEK THREE part one

ZERO CAME HOME around midday three days later. Leaning heavy on Kaien's shoulders he stumbled through the door with his silver hair full of snowflakes. Yuki was at home because the school had a break that week, but if there had been no break she would have skipped class anyway. Her heart had fluttered like the wings of a giddy hummingbird all morning while she waited for him.

Zero looked very tired and worn out, but when he saw her, he lit up with a completely lopsided grin, and his dazed lavender eyes glittered. Yuki hugged him so hard he winced and almost lost his footing.

He stumbled and chuckled. "I am a little bit tipsy."

"Yeah, I can see that," she smiled at him.

"He had the surgery this morning, so he is still quite affected from the drugs," Kaien mumbled and bent down and unlaced and removed Zero's shoes for him.

From all of what Yuki knew Zero had been through these past weeks, she had not expected him to come home all chuckling and smiling, drugged or not. She felt relief wash over her. Zero would be fine. Everything would be fine. Zero took her face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers. He looked her into the eyes, and Yuki felt herself go all warm from his intense gaze. She blushed.

"Damn, you are beautiful…" he whispered.

Yuki blushed even more and Kaien snorted. He straightened his back. "Come Zero, give me your coat, and let us get you to bed."

"I keep the damn coat on."

"Oh…yes…of course. Yuki, I will just help Zero up the stairs and into bed, and then you and I need to have a talk, okay?"

Yuki did not want to have a talk. She wanted to curl herself up around a sleeping Zero and just feel him breathe in her arms. But she nodded.

Zero chuckled again. "Mm, you are in for quite a surprise, Yuki. Just make sure you sit down. But I will give you a hint…" And then he tilted his head and whispered in her ear, almost choking on his chuckles, "You are going to be an aunt!"

Yuki froze and stared at him. His eyes were impossible to read, but his chuckles peaked and became almost as looney as his grin.

"Yeah, it kind of dropped like a bomb on me too. I guess this must be how the Virgin Mary felt." He put his arms around her and buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath. "Mm, you smell so good!"

Yuki met her father's gaze. He looked very tired and sad. And like a cold winter morning it dawned upon her that nothing would be fine, and that Zero clinging to her, still chuckling like he had told her a funny joke, was actually breaking into pieces. She buried her face into his chest and hugged him close. A hand to the back of his head with her fingers in his hair and her other one around his shoulder. Zero shivered and his looney chuckles subdued. His breathing was unsteady, and she could hear his heart slam wild in his chest, even through the thick wool of his coat.

Kaien let them have a moment, then he sighed. "Come now children, let go of each other, none of you will disappear."

Zero relented and put one arm around Kaien's shoulder, and Kaien took a steady grip around his waist. Zero winced again and gave Kaien a glare, and Kaien quickly moved his arm to Zero's upper back instead.

"I am sorry," he mumbled, and carefully he nudged Zero forward.

But Zero lingered, swaying. He turned to Yuki, who had seen the exchange between her father and Zero, feeling herself go all cold inside. Zero's eyes flickered to her lips, and for a moment Yuki lost her breath. But he only kissed her on her cheek, and it was a very friendly kiss. Zero had kissed her cheeks many times, her lips too, her whole body actually. But he had never kissed her in front of her father, but now he did not even seem to know that Kaien was in the same universe as them, although he hung heavy on his shoulders.

He looked Yuki into the eyes again. "You have the most beautiful eyes in the world, Yuki…"

Kaien rolled his eyes, and Yuki blushed bright red, and Zero leaned in again, and if Kaien had not tugged him forward, Yuki was pretty sure Zero would not have kissed her cheek this time.

"Stop flirting with my daughter Zero. She is already all head over heels over you anyway, and you really need to sleep. Let us get you to bed now."

Yuki hissed. _"Father!"_

Zero gave her one of his shy smiles that always turned her into soft spring snow in sunshine. "But Kaien, I just cannot help it…" His voice was dreamy, and although he talked to her father, he still held Yuki's gaze. "I got lost in her eyes seven years ago, and if I had not been turned into a vampire and now is knocked up and on top of that high as a kite so I cannot go down on one knee, because then I will fall on my face, I would ask her to marry me right away. Because your daughter Kaien, she has a heart made out of stardust, and it taps the pace of my heart, and I lose my damn breath every time I look into her eyes…But I don't think she would like a pregnant vampire for a husband." And suddenly his eyes were very sad, and he did not smile at all. "I am sorry Yuki, but I have been in love with you since we were kids. I would give anything to spend the rest of my life with you." He turned his head towards the stairs. "Well, father, get your scrawny ass moving before I embarrass myself anymore. Are you helping me to bed, or is it me helping you?"

Both Yuki and Kaien stared at him. Rendered completely speechless. But Kaien found his bearings and started walking, half carrying Zero with him.

"I think your head is what is made out of stardust just now son," he mumbled. "I cannot believe you finally called me father…"

"I also said I was high as a kite, so don't get used to it. Uh. I feel sick again. We need to stop by the toilet before bed."

Yuki went to the kitchen. Her heart hurt. Oh, it hurt. She sank down on a chair. She did not know what to think, so for a while she just sat there and did not think at all. But when her father finally came down, she had managed to get herself together a little bit and had prepared a pot of coffee.

Kaien let out a soft sigh. "You are an angel Yuki. Have I ever told you that?"

Yuki tried to smile. "Only like all the time father..."

Kaien poured coffee for both of them. A heavy silence settled while they sipped on it.

"So," Yuki finally whispered, "the surgery did not go well."

"No, it did not go well at all." Kaien put his hands over his face. "He is pregnant, Yuki. With three…spawns of that damned vampire. I know I work hard to keep the peace between the human and the vampire society, and I know most vampires are not bad, quite the opposite actually, but damn…Just right now I am so angry I just want to pick up my old hunter's sword and slay every single one of them and their vile and unnatural abilities with them. Zero has already been through so much, he does not need this!"

Yuki whispered, "But at least…it is only like nine weeks, right? And less now?"

Kaien looked at her, and he realized that Yuki did not understand at all, and he did not blame her. He could almost not get his mind around it himself. He sighed and felt very tired. Softly he took Yuki's hands that cramped with shiny, white knuckles around her cup of coffee.

"Yuki…Zero carries three spawns who will grow into three normal sized babies. In nine weeks. _Nine weeks_. If Zero had not been a vampire he would die from the stress it will put on his body, because as these spawns grow, so will of course Zero. Or at least his belly. And because there is three of them, he will get quite big. But as a vampire, and as long as he drinks blood, or in Zero's case take his blood tablets, his body will heal as it…breaks. But he will certainly feel it, and it will be painful. And then there is the rest of it. Like with a normal pregnancy. Fatigue, morning sickness, weight gain and so on. And I guess you can imagine just how very awkward he feels about all of it?"

Yuki closed her eyes, feeling her heart break. Tears slipped her lashes. Yes, she could imagine that very well.

"Can I go to him?" she whispered.

"Of course, but he is sleeping Yuki, and he needs that."

"Yes, I know. I will not wake him. I just want to be close to him."

Her father's smile was very warm. "Good. And I think Zero would want to have you close, too."

Yuki stood. Then she hesitated, and she had no idea why she suddenly blurted out her next words, "Father…I love him."

He did not look the least bit surprised. "I know."

YUKI SAT DOWN beside Zero on the bed. She smiled softly as she looked at his sleeping face. His long and smoky silver lashes rested on his high cheekbones, and his silver hair was sleep tousled. He had a sharp jawline and a straight nose. His lips were full and very soft. He was completely she-could-not-take-her-eyes-of-him-handsome. He lay on his back, and one of his arms lay on the blanket, resting at his side. It pulled the blanket down so one of his muscled shoulders showed. He looked very…manly.

Zero, pregnant? It was so surreal.

Her eyes slid over his tall frame under the blanket and came to rest at his belly. She could not see anything, but the wool blanket was thick and a little bit rumpled. Had she felt anything when she hugged him earlier? Maybe, now when she knew about it. And he had winced when she had thrown herself at him and hugged him and also when her father had steadied him. It had hurt. Very softly, careful not to wake him, she caressed his cheeks. She had to force herself not to let her fingers stray into his soft hair and keep touching him, and probably waking him up. He was home. He was safe. She took his hand and lay down beside him.

"I sure want a pregnant vampire for husband, if that pregnant vampire is you," she whispered in his ear, and put her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his sweet, comforting scent.


	4. JUST HOLD ME

WEEK THREE part two

ZERO SLEPT PEACEFULLY through the rest of the day and woke in the evening. Yuki felt him stir and raised her head to look at him. His lavender eyes were all glazed from the heavy sleep and maybe some drugs still lingering in his system. He blinked and looked around, taking in his surroundings. When he met Yuki's eyes, he smiled his usual shy and completely sane smile. He squeezed her hand that was still holding his. Softly he laced his fingers with hers.

"Hi," he whispered.

Yuki smiled back. "Hi."

They put their faces together and searched each other's eyes, their smiles growing wider. Then Zero felt sickness wash over him, and he remembered all of what happened to him the last two weeks. He closed his eyes and turned his face away.

He was knocked up. Pregnant. With child. Three monsters of a vile pure blood were growing inside him. For some reason he had known the surgery would not work, and he had had a few days to get his head around it. As if he ever could. But at least it was only seven weeks left now, and then it would be over. He tried to tell himself he had been through worse, much worse. But how in hell was he going to tell this to Yuki? And then it hit him that she probably already knew. Of course Kaien had needed to tell her. Zero clenched his teeth. It would be kind of obvious soon anyway. He felt the skin strain over his swollen belly. Being pregnant and getting fat in front of the girl he loved more than anything. Yeah, that sure would be fun. He wanted to disappear into thin air. Just fade away. His life was a nightmare.

He sighed. "I am kind of pregnant."

Yuki snuggled closer. "I know."

"With three monsters."

"I know."

"Any ideas of names? Because I have to admit my mind is kind of blank."

"Zero-"

Another wave of sickness hit him, and he threw the blanket off and jumped over a startled Yuki and out of the bed, rushing for the toilet. He had no time to explain to her. He just barely made it before he started to heave. He had not managed to get much food down in the hospital, so it was only dry heaving. But it felt bad enough. He thought he would be used to throwing up by now, since heaving up blood tablets for months before his body finally had accepted them, but this fucking morning sickness was something else. It drained him completely. Suddenly he felt Yuki's soft palm on his back, and she sat down beside him.

"Here," she said, and put a glass of water and plate with a cheese sandwich on the floor. "Father said that eating will help against the sickness."

Zero groaned. He glanced at the sandwich, and then he started retching and heaving again. He did not want Yuki to see him sick like this. And then he realised he also was naked except for his boxer shorts. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He absolutely did not want her to see his belly either. He retched again.

Yuki softly stroked his back. Zero had lost weight those two weeks he had been gone, and he had not had much to lose to begin with. She felt his spine and ribs close to her palm. She swallowed. Seeing Zero so sick and knowing why broke her heart into tiny pieces like it had been made out of fragile glass. He stood on his knees, hunched over the toilet, and she saw his slightly rounded belly and how it already pushed on the waistband of his boxers. She closed her eyes hard and willed tears back to their well before she opened them again. It was so unfair! If Zero thought she had a heart made out of stardust, his heart was certainly made out of soft and downy baby bird feathers. He was the kindest person she knew.

She realised Zero had stopped retching and looked up, finding him looking at her, looking at his belly. His eyes were dark like storm clouds and flickered full of emotions. Exhaustion. Hurt. Pain. Anger. Fear. And shame, so much shame. He blushed and turned his face away.

"If you think this is bad, just wait a couple of weeks. By then I will be huge." Then he groaned. His fingers clenched around the toilet seat and he retched again. "Fuck hell, I hate this." He heaved violently, his ribs and spine almost protruding his pale skin.

Yuki let her hand stay on his back. She waited until he was done, and then she softly put her arms around his chest and hugged him very close. Careful not to touch his belly.

"Zero, I don't think it is bad, not at all," she whispered softly. "And I will not think it is bad in a couple of weeks either."

_Not bad?_ Hell, he had a belly. He had never in his life had a belly before. There were… _things_ growing inside of him. He would say it was very bad. But he was too worn out to argue with her.

"Yuki, can you get my toothbrush?"

"Yeah."

She rummaged around the sink and found it. She put toothpaste on and gave it to him. Zero brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth with the water Yuki had brought with the sandwich. Too weak to do anything else after that, he just sat on his knees, slumping over the toilet bowl, resting his forehead on his forearm across the seat. Yuki took his toothbrush out of his hand and put it back by the sink. She sat down beside him and lay her face to his shoulder and put her arms around his chest again.

"I don't want…I don't want you to see me like this," he whispered.

"Like what?" Yuki whispered back.

"Like all…pregnant." He tried to chuckle, but it choked. "I will get huge."

Yuki buried her face in his silky silver strands. "Zero, you idiot. Do you really think I care about that?" And slowly, as to not startle a wild animal, she slid one of her hands from his chest and down to his rounded belly. "I don't care that you are a vampire, and I don't care that you are pregnant, and I will absolutely not care if you get huge. All I care about is that you are home and safe again. You are my best friend who I share countless of wonderful memories with. My best friend who took all my fears away when we were kids and taught me the real world is just as beautiful as the dreamworld I tried to live in. My best friend who makes me laugh until I cry and who always comforts me when I am sad." She leaned in and kissed his cheek and whispered, "Zero, you mean the world to me, and you always will."

Zero took a shivering breath. Feeling Yuki's arms around him after these weeks of hell, even her soft palm to his belly, felt so unbelievingly good. When he felt her pull him closer, he let her. He leaned back into her arms with a soft sigh and rested his head to her shoulder. He wanted her close more than anything. He knew she now had a full view over his swollen, pregnant middle and he felt embarrassed, but it was not like he would be able to hide it much longer anyway. And Yuki would not even think a thought that could hurt him. He trusted her completely. He turned a little in her arms and put his arms around her too. He snuggled his face into her neck.

"Just…just hold me," he whispered.

Yuki lay her face to his. "Always, Zero."

For a long time they just sat there, on the mint coloured tiles of the bathroom floor, holding each other very close. And for the first time in weeks Zero actually felt safe. And almost okay. He let out a strangled chuckle.

"Well, who knew I would get knocked up before you, huh?"

Yuki smiled. "Well, you are the most adventurous one of us after all…"

Zero opened his eyes, and met Yuki's only an inch away. She smiled softly, and her eyes shone full of warmth. Shyly he smiled back and Yuki felt suddenly all warm and fuzzy. Her smile turned into bright sunshine. She kissed his cheek again and Zero closed his eyes and tightened his arms around her. Her hand stroked his belly, and how awkward that felt, he let her do it. Yuki's hands had always had a calming effect on him ever since she soothed him to sleep after his nightmares when they had been kids. His skin and muscles ached from being pushed out so quickly, and Yuki's hand was gentle and careful.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah…it does. But your hand…it is really…nice."

Yuki kept caressing him, watching him drift off to sleep in her arms. She was stunned from what had passed between them, and how Zero had given her his whole trust. She knew sharing this could not be easy. She lay her face to his again and closed her eyes, and feeling Zero breathe in her arms, she soon was asleep too.

THE FIRST DAYS at home Zero spent cursing in bed with a bucket by its side. Yuki was with him all the time. She even slept in his bed, like she had done when they were kids and he had nightmares. Although Zero still felt mortified from what happened to him, having her holding him, and holding her, actually made all of it easier.

Kaien had of course been right. Eating helped subdue the sickness, and Zero was also hungrier than usual, so eating was not a problem anymore. And if his morning sickness and growing belly was not proof enough that he actually was pregnant, his strange cravings were. Zero had never had a sweet-tooth and a normally rather small appetite, especially since he changed into a vampire, so this was completely new to him. Suddenly all he wanted to eat were sweets, and preferably Yuki's special triple chocolate cookies she always made for herself at that time of the month.

They sat in Zero's bed. Zero was tired, but being able to at least sit up without having his stomach looping was a great improvement. He tried to catch up on some school work, and he easily solved all the math problems and equations Yuki had struggled with for days. Yuki sat curled up against his shoulder, reading one of her favourite books, but mostly just enjoying being close to him.

Zero took another cookie, and realising it was the last one, he split it in two and gave half of it to Yuki, although that almost caused him physical pain. Yuki took it, surprised, and then she glanced at the now empty plate of cookies on the bedside table, and for once it was not empty because of her. She blinked and looked up at Zero.

"You ate all of them?" she asked in wonder.

Zero blushed. "Yeah. It seems so."

"Do you want me to get you some more?"

Zero's pink cheeks turned crimson, and he nodded. He closed his eyes and groaned. "Fuck, I will get so fat."

"No, you will not. And even if you would, you would still be just as handsome."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. Zero opened his eyes and searched her eyes, and then he gave her a soft, tentative kiss on her cheek too. Yuki took a shaky breath, and her dark eyes turned shiny with tears. She smiled bright with happiness.

"What?" he whispered. "I have kissed your cheeks a zillion times, Yuki."

"Yes, but…" Yuki could hardly explain her tears herself. "I am just happy that you are feeling better."

One tear spilled over, and Zero smiled softly. He leaned in and kissed it away. He took her face in both his hands and put his forehead to hers. His lavender eyes were very warm. "Yuki…you don't need to worry about me. I will be okay you know."

Yuki snivelled. "You will?"'

He nodded. "Yes, I will. I promise." And suddenly the silver specs in his eyes twinkled. "Just don't laugh at me when you need to help me out of bed in some weeks."

Yuki smiled. "Idiot. Of course not."

"And don't laugh if I get fat either."

Yuki's smile widened. "Of course not." She hugged him very close and snuggled her face into his chest, feeling his small chuckle more than hearing it as he hugged her back. "Zero?"

"Mm?"

"I like you. A lot."

"Mm, I like you too, Yuki. A lot." He bent his head and gave her another soft kiss on her cheek and whispered in her ear, "Now…can you please get me some more cookies before I starve to death?"


	5. MIDNIGHT SNACKING

WEEK FIVE

IN THE BEGINNING of week five no clothes could hide Zero's round waist anymore. The short school break was over. Yuki was in school and Kaien in town, working, so Zero was alone in the house. He studied himself in the big bathroom mirror. Awkwardly he put a hand to his swollen belly. He grew bigger and rounder every day, and his skin was very tense. He was also getting heavier. It felt awkward when he moved, and getting out of bed was actually harder now, even though he had only joked about that.

Zero had always been very thin and athletic. He loved the free feeling of running, and his hard hunter's training kept him strong, so although he understood he would gain weight from his constant snacking, it still took him by surprise when he first noticed it. The doctor came in the end of every week to check on him, and they were both surprised when Zero had gained thirteen pounds since last time. Some of it was of course the growing lives inside him, and he was still at a healthy and normal weight, but the doctor said that if he did not want to gain too much, he needed to think about his eating habits. Zero had only growled at him.

But what really surprised Zero was that he sometimes could feel the monsters move. The doctor explained that although they were mindless, their bodies would move as they developed nerves and muscles, just like normal babies. And quite stunned Zero realised that he did not really think about them as monsters anymore, and that the word had become more of a sweet pet name. He felt sorrow for them. They had wanted this no more than he. They would actually never want anything from life, and although they probably would not suffer from it, he found it sad. Softly he stroked his belly, feeling them swirl inside of him. Strange. He took a slow breath. He would try his best to keep them safe and give them all what they needed at least for the short period of life that was theirs.

Yuki still slept in Zero's bed every night, and Yuki being Yuki, acted like the pregnancy was completely normal. Every night she massaged his aching back, and most often her caresses were followed by kisses, and they ended up making love although Zero started to feel clumsy. They had to find new positions, but had fun playing around in bed, laughing a lot together.

Zero smiled softly. Fuck, he missed her now when she was in school. Since Zero had changed into a vampire, he had thought Yuki could never love him back. Getting knocked up and blowing up like a balloon did not really improve his odds. Or so he had thought. But all her kisses and caresses, and her small words _You and I_ had made a stubborn hope grow in his heart again.

_Zero, you love sick idiot_! With an irritated growl he went to the kitchen to make dinner so it would be ready for when Yuki and Kaien got home. At least he could do something useful.

ONE NIGHT YUKI woke from Zero getting out of bed. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting his socks on. His silver hair shone pale in the bluish darkness of the room.

She reached for him and took his hand. "Zero?"

"I am hungry," he muttered. He turned to her and leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep, Yuki."

She smiled. "I can fix something for you. You should rest."

Except from her triple chocolate cookies, that actually was very tasty, Yuki was a complete disaster in the kitchen, and making them always left the kitchen looking like a scene out of a horror story. She would wake Kaien up when she rummaged through, and used, all the pots, and her food was just barely eatable. Zero cringed at the thought.

"Yuki, I am pregnant, not an invalid. I can fix my food myself. Go back to sleep."

But Yuki was awake and after tossing and turning and feeling alone for a while, she went downstairs to join him. She stopped in the doorway, looking at him. Zero stood by the stove with his back to her. He was a very good cook, much better than herself and her father, and he usually liked making food. She watched the play of muscles in his arms as he poured something in the frying pan. The same strong arms that held her close every night now.

He wore a black t-shirt that clung snuggly to his shoulders and blue plaid pyjama pants that were riding low on his hips because his growing belly pushed them down. His lower back was also getting a little bit wider now when he ate more. She smiled softly. Her precious boy. Pregnant.

If this had happened to her, Yuki was sure she would have been locked up in the looney bin. But not Zero. Although he grumbled over the weight gain and his swollen belly and aching back, he was usually in a good mood, teasing and joking around. But it was not only a physical change. He had hormonal mood swings, whatever he said and however good he was at controlling them, and she had also noticed how he sometimes held an arm protective over his swollen belly and gently caressed it. He had started to care for the three beings inside of him. Yuki had absolutely not expected that, and it touched her to the heart.

_You amazing boy. I love you._

He looked at her over his shoulder and gave her a shy smile. "What, Yuki?"

"No, nothing." She went over to him and put her arms around him. She softly stroked his belly and leaned in and whispered, "Hey, you need to let him sleep sometimes too."

Zero put his free arm around her shoulder and gave her a kiss on top of her head. "Mm, talking about sleep, did I not tell you to go back to sleep?" he said softly.

Yuki checked the frying pan. Blueberry pancakes, her favourite. She smiled and looked up at him. "Yeah, but it is weekend tomorrow, and I am planning on having a long sleep in with you. So, blueberry pancakes huh?"

"Yeah…" He blushed and glanced at her and gave her a shy smile. "I actually hoped you would join me."

Yuki smiled wide and buried her face in his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her forehead. Strong and steady. They stood like that for a while. Zero flipped the pancakes, and Yuki let her fingers work his back. He let out a soft sigh.

"Your fingers are pure magic."

"And your skin is pure silk…Zero?"

"Mm?"

"Promise you will not laugh at me."

He chuckled. "I promise. What, Yuki?"

"I miss you…when I am in school."

Zero was silent for a while. "You do?"

She nodded into his chest. "Stupid, huh?"

"I miss you too, Yuki. A lot."

He let go of her shoulder and caressed her cheek softly with his knuckles. Yuki turned her face and met his warm lavender eyes. Zero closed his eyes and kissed her so soft it was almost unbearable sweet. He slid his fingers into her hair and deepened the kiss, his tongue shyly swirling around hers. When he let go of her Yuki felt like cotton candy. She looked at him with hazy eyes, and Zero smiled. It was the first kiss they shared like that, and they both knew it. A kiss like an everyday kiss between two people in love.

"Pancakes are done," he whispered.

They took their plates and cups and went to the library. They sat down in front of the fireplace, and as a fire caught and crackled, they ate pancakes and drank coffee. Outside the wind whirled and the snow fell. They talked and teased and laughed.

When they had eaten, Yuki cuddled close to Zero and leaned her head on his shoulder, gently putting her arms around his wide middle. She felt his arm around her, and shyly he curled his fingers around hers. They continued looking into the flames, letting their fingers softly play with each other. Yuki let out a happy sigh. She buried her face in the crock of his neck.

"It feels like I cannot get close enough to you."

Zero took a shaky breath and hugged her closer to him. Yuki let go of his hand and cupped his cheek in her palm, letting her thumb brush over his lips. Zero nudged her fingertips in a soft kiss. Their eyes met. Swirling lavender seas and sunlit brown earth.

"I love you," she whispered. "I love you so, so much…"

Both their eyes widened in surprise, and Yuki blushed crimson when she realised what she had said. It had just slipped. She let go of him like he had burned her and sat up. She closed her eyes. Zero had been drugged to the moon and far beyond when he told her he loved her, and he was clearly not remembering any of that. Suddenly she felt full of insecurities. Just because she wanted his words to be true, it did not necessarily make them so.

"Yuki…" Zero said softly. "Can you look at me?"

Yuki shook her head. Zero was silent for a while, then she felt his arms around her, and he pulled her to his chest. He kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger. She heard his heart thunder against her ear. She dared a glance at him. He smiled, and maybe it was the hormones, but his eyes glittered with tears.

"I love you too, Yuki." He touched his face to hers. "I have loved you since our first year together."

Yuki's lips twitched and then they cracked into a beaming smile. Zero closed his eyes and kissed her.

"I love you, Yuki."

"I love you too, Zero."

They hugged each other close and kissed happy chuckling. Yuki's hands found their way under Zero's t-shirt, and Zero's fingers started to unbutton her nightshift.

"Shall we go to bed?" he whispered. "I want to carry you, but I am getting too fat for that."

They started laughing, and Yuki stood. Noticing it was hard for him to get up from the floor she gave him a hand.

Zero blushed but took it. "I must say I feel like such a dream catch right now…"

Yuki kissed him. "Well, you are. Whatever you feel like."

"Huge and mortified."

"What?"

He chuckled. "I feel huge and quite mortified by the fact that my girlfriend had to help me up from the floor."

She smiled. "Yeah, you are actually getting close to huge now. You are still just as handsome though. And I love that you called me your girlfriend. I love you, Zero."

"Mm, I love you too."

They made the dishes kissing and laughing. Zero washed their plates and cups and Yuki wiped them dry with a towel. By the time they reached the bed, Yuki was only in her underwear and Zero only in his pyjama pants. They made love, looking into each other's eyes the whole time. If it had felt good before it was nothing to how it felt now, knowing they loved each other. Afterwards Yuki fell asleep with her face snuggled into Zero's chest, holding his hand. Zero stayed awake, feeling the little monsters move inside him. It tickled. As if she had sensed it, Yuki put her other hand to his belly, softly caressing it.

"Go to sleep little ones…" she mumbled and drifted off again.

Zero took a slow and deep breath. _I am happy_ , he thought. _I am fucking pregnant, but I am happier than I have been in a long time._ He hugged Yuki closer and buried his face in her soft hair. "I love you," he whispered.


End file.
